Mayor of Buller
The Mayor of Buller is the head of the municipal government of Buller District, New Zealand. The mayor is directly elected using the first-past-the-post electoral system.
Jamie Cleine has been the mayor since the 2019 local elections.[1]
History
Buller District was established as part of the 1989 local government amalgamation of Buller County, Westport Borough and Inangahua County.[2]
Pat O'Dea was mayor for seven terms until his defeat in 2004, i.e. he was the inaugural mayor of Buller District, but was previously mayor of a county or borough council.[3][4] In the 2001 local elections, Westport lawyer Martin Sawyers came within 335 votes of O'Dea, but in the 2004 local elections, Sawyers had a majority of 1072 votes.[5] Sawyers retired after his three-year term.[3]
The 2007 mayoral election was contested by Pat O'Dea, Pat McManus, and Inangahua Ward councillor Graeme Neylon; McManus was elected.[6][7] The 2010 mayoral election was fought by O'Dea and McManus, with the incumbent again successful.[8] At the 2013 local elections, McManus retired for health reasons after having earlier declared that he would stand for a third term.[9] The current mayor is Garry Howard,[10] who defeated three-term councillor Margaret Montgomery and Greg Hart, who was first elected onto the council in the Westport Ward in 2013.[11][12]
List of Mayors of Buller
Buller District has had five mayors:
Name | Term | |
---|---|---|
1 | Pat O'Dea | 1989–2004 |
2 | Martin Sawyers | 2004–2007 |
3 | Pat McManus | 2007–2013 |
4 | Garry Howard | 2013–2019 |
5 | Jamie Cleine | 2019–present |
References
- "Buller Mayors and Councillors". bullerdc.govt.nz. Buller District Council.
- "Buller Heritage". Buller District Libraries. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- "Election Statistics". Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Mayors on West Coast of South Island keep their jobs". Radio New Zealand. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "West Coast's three mayors rolled, Moore and Shadbolt romp home". The New Zealand Herald. 9 October 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Buller District Mayor". Local Government Online Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Buller District Council – Inangahua Ward". Local Government Online Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Buller District Mayor". Local Government Online Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- Aulakh, Ben; Scanlon, Lee (19 June 2013). "Buller Mayor to bow out". Otago Daily Times. Westport News. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Mayor & Councillors". Buller District Council. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Margaret Montgomery". Local Government Online Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Buller District Council – Westport Ward". Local Government Online Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2013.